God and Aliens

I’ve often been exacerbated by people’s stubborn assertion that alien life must be out there. With no evidence of aliens, any belief in aliens therefore cannot be scientific and must be faith. My movie The Invisible Pink Unicorn and my spin-​off guild are explorations of this. Because of the lack of evidence, I’m bewildered by prominent scientists, like Stephen Hawking, who have come out, not only in favor of the likelihood of alien existence, but who have made outright assertions that they must exist. Their arguments based on ratios of probability (which is bad reasoning) are all the more painful.

I should also point out that the scientists who speak out the loudest in favor of alien life often tend to be vocal atheists as well, like our good Richard Dawkins. But just as I firmly believe that a man can be a good Christian and a good scientist, I maintain that a man can be a staunch atheist and a good scientist also. So I never gave the connection much thought.

I was watching Torchwood the other day (a mediocre series for adult eyes that ended better than it started) when a monologue by one of the characters illuminated the issue:

“The thing is, we’ve all seen it now, the past few years – alien life – even though half the world’s denying it… The past few years, suicide rates have doubled and that’s ever since the first alien. My first case – my first death – was a suicide. Do you know why she did it? Cuz, she’d written all these letters. She’d been a Christian all her life and then alien life appears. She wrote this bit; she said, ‘It’s like science has won’… She said she saw her place in the universe and it was tiny. She died because she thought she was nothing.” - Torchwood: Children of Earth, Day 1

And then it hit me. I got it. This was it. Atheists don’t believe in aliens because there is evidence. Atheists believe in aliens because they think aliens would disprove Christianity. They haven’t gotten past needing a reason for it all, or for trying to understand the big picture. They simply hate the Christian answer, and want so desperately for a better one that they convince themselves that aliens are reasonable despite the lack of evidence, and attribute it to science. That is why atheist scientists are talking as if aliens must exist. They’re sadly taking their objectivity out of their profession and using it to bolster their faith. This modern reality proves G.K. Chesterton’s prophetic words, “When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing – they believe in anything.”

Nevermind the shameful straw man in the Torchwood quote – that all Christians hate and combat science. Let’s just tackle the conclusion. The existence of aliens would not disprove Christianity. Even if Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking were right, and there was alien life out there, even intelligent alien life, their existence would not counter a thing Christians believe or teach.

C.S. Lewis, the Christian thinker who wrote years ago when belief in aliens was still a fantasy, wrote a piece titled “Shall We Lose God in Outer Space?” where he deftly concluded that God and aliens are not at odds. In fact, he sometimes wrote as if they might exist, probably in a sinless state, and he was afraid of what we would do to them if we contacted them. His lesser-​known science fiction trilogy – Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength – is about alien life existing alongside human life, all beholden to the same Christian God.

The Bible never talks about alien life. Why should we assume it would be against it? The Bible never says we are alone in the universe. The Bible only asserts that mankind was made by God (it doesn’t say how) and that God places a special significance on humans that is apart from all other life. How does this contradict the idea of aliens?

I do not believe aliens exist, not because the Bible says they don’t (because it doesn’t), but because we have found no evidence for their existence. That is what science is all about. To believe in something that lacks evidence is faith. My faith is Christianity, for which there is little evidence as science understands it. But as a Christian, I love science. I follow science. Science is not at odds with my faith and I am not scared of science, despite what TV writers think.

The tragic thing about atheist scientists bringing their Alienist faith into the scientific world is that it adulterates scientific objectivity.

One more thing I’ll touch on is the above quoted character’s huge assumption. The woman he knew committed suicide because she felt small, like her role in the universe was tiny, and she couldn’t cope with it. Let’s look past the obvious silliness of a devoted Christian woman committing suicide. A few do, this is true, but Christians are the ones who argue against suicide and mercy killings while the world tries to pretend it is noble (even in Torchwood, they included a character who maintained his dignity by committing suicide). It is the Catholics, after all, who believe (without grounds) that committing suicide is an automatic ticket to hell. But anyway, Alienists like to pretend that Christians are arrogant and self-​centered, and this is why they believe in a God who gives them a special place in the universe. The reality, however, is that this belief only forces a Christian to be more humble, because even though God lifts us up, we don’t deserve it and the Bible tells us this on every page. God is the one who is great, and we are the ones who are small. This belief in human small-​ness compared to God is nothing new, but stretches back to the dawn of Christendom, as Lewis explains:

“The insignificance (by cosmic standards) of the Earth became as much a common-​place to the medieval, as to the modern, thinker; it was part of the moralists’ stock-​in-​trade, used, as Cicero uses it, to mortify human ambition.” - C.S. Lewis, The Discarded Image, (Cambridge, 1994), p26

The magnificence and immeasurable expanse of the universe makes a Christian stand in awe of God and his creativity. We are not responsible for it, and so we rightly feel small. This isn’t a new sensation to the Christian, and therefore it is far from being a cause for suicide.

is best known as his alter-ego Oxhorn, author of popular machinima movies. When he's not wearing suspenders with a certain sort of finesse, he's reading, writing, blogging, doing web design, making movies and more often than not enjoying a classy drink with an even classier cigar. Watch his movies at oxhorn.com and feel free to stalk him on Twitter and Facebook.

As an atheist and amateur scientist, I feel compelled to defend the assertions of those who believe in extraterrestrial life (not that I need to fight Steven Hawking’s battles for him, of course :P)…

First of all, if one assumes that the scientific explanation for the origin of life (gradual evolution through over a long period of time applied to a ‘primordial soup’ beginning of life on earth) is true, then we know that life can form in the universe (obviously, because we are here, after all). Earth has all the things that earth-​like life needs to exist, obviously. And with the knowledge that our galaxy contains 100 – 400 billion stars, and that there are an estimated 100 billion galaxies, it stands to reason that there are likely other earth-​like planets in the universe (after all, there are only so many possible combinations of mass, gas content, distance from star, etc., and I see no reason to assume that there is only one planet with our particular combination among the many, many trillions of planets ther emust be). And knowing that life came into existence on at least one Earth-​like planet, it seems acceptable to me to assume that it could come into existence on others.

Now, I know that you will immediately argue that you don’t believe that life came into existence through random processes that could be replicated on others, and that since divine replication is the only way we could have come about, there is no reason to assume that life could come into existence through other means on other planets.

However, I merely wished to explain that scientists are not making judgments without evidence, and their speculations based on probability actually have a very observable basis. We know what life needs, we know life came into being on a planet that had all of those things, we can make an educated guess about how likely it is for other planets like that to exist, and so some scientists find it likely that life exists elsewhere in the universe (the real schism is “How common is life in the universe?” and that is based on different opinions on how likely life is to come into existence on a planet capable of sustaining it; some wager that given enough time, life is nearly inevitable, while others suspect it to be much more uncommon).

Atheists have differing opinions about intelligent extraterrestrial life (“aliens”). You can’t paint them all with the same broad brush and assume they all think the same things. It’s just the same as not all Christians (even those of the same sect) thinking identically.

Believing something because it’s suggested by elementary probability thought experiments like the Drake equation seems reasonable to me: you don’t believe it with certainty, you believe it in accordance to the probability of the event. There are so many stars and so many planets that based on everything we know about how life arose on Earth it is likely that there is simple, primitive life throughout the galaxy. This conclusion comes from observations of how the basic elements of life arise spontaneously under the right conditions. The universe provides so many chances for those conditions to arise that it is very likely they have existed on places other than Earth. Conclusion: life (probably mostly very primitive single-​cell life) is relatively common throughout the Milky Way galaxy.

That takes nothing on faith. It’s an extrapolation of existing knowledge about biochemistry and astronomy.

Where you say all atheists believe something (on faith), the reality is that most of them don’t know, because no one really knows for sure if we’re alone in the universe.

I always wondered one thing when talking about the existence of life. Why are we the only species on this planet that has the ability to do what we do? Wouldn’t you think that over hundreds of thousands of years that another, even just one, species would develop a brain partially close to ours (Not monkeys, like a Zoidberg from Futurama)? It’s just odd to me that we are the only species that practically dominates the planet. It’s also interesting how the brains of all of the other species on this planet have stayed the same since their ancestors time.

Why must it be faith in God, or faith in the existence of aliens? As you showed in the post, the two are not at odds with each other. I have two big doubts about the “rare earth” hypothesis. One is that, yes, it would be excessively unlikely for a situation like that which sustains life on Earth to have happened just that way somewhere else in the universe, as well. Except, scientists have a tendency to to look at patterns and numbers and decide something couldn’t happen, or is highly unlikely to have happened, and then find out one day they were wrong. Einstein thought an atomic bomb was impossible. Well into the 20th century, various scientists have claimed we know how the universe works and are just ironing out the details… and then a few years later some discovery that sends their heads spinning and makes them take another look at fundamental laws of science happens.

If God planned for another planet like ours to be out there, it’s out there whether science likes it or not. But we don’t know whether or not God did that. When something is “proven” by science, all that really means is that we know that’s how it works based on our current ability to comprehend the evidence available to us at this time. There have been cases of something “proven” by science being “disproven” by science later, and a hypothesis hasn’t even made it that far yet.

My other doubt about the “rare earth” hypothesis is that I feel it puts too narrow a definition on what sentient alien life would have to be. Is it impossible for God to create beings that are physically far different from humans, and with needs for thriving that would actually kill us, but give them minds and souls not so different from our own? I don’t think it is. I don’t know that He did do it, but I believe He could. And if we are that much different from those beings, I wouldn’t even try to guess how long it would be before we knew they existed, or they knew we do. Because, if they do exist, I don’t buy the “advanced alien civilization” hype. If sentient life exists elsewhere in the universe, there’s at least as much reason to believe they aren’t technologically advanced beyond on our wildest dreams as there is to believe they are.

I cannot have faith that God created the universe and everything in it, then start shutting my mind when it comes to what “everything in it” might mean.

I’m an Atheist and I believe there is alien life because in a universe this freaking huge, with billions and trillions of galaxies each again having billions and trillions of stars each of which can have several planets around it… it would be unspeakably arrogant to believe that in this huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge universe we are the only intelligent species or form of life at all to emerge. Not because of some higher belief or such crap but because it’s just wrong that our species/​planet was the only one to win out against the cosmic odds of probablity and come into existence. So far we only know a tiny fraction about the Universe and yet we already make generalizations about this vastness we don’t even know or fully understand yet. Look at us, racism, classism, environmental damage, etc. all the thing we do wrong and yet we are supposed to believe that this is it. Against all odds of probability we emerged and we are not even that great. And yet “this” is “the chosen race” who KNOWS the one true god?

You do not believe in Aliens because there is no evidence but you believe in God even though there is absolutely no real evidence for him/​her/​it either… huh…

As to the “aliens believing in OUR god” — that’s just the “usual” religious arrogance, sorry to say so. Why must “our” god be the only one? Because our religions can’t deal with anything else, they can’t even imagine admitting being wrong.

Say an alien race was discovered, maybe more advanced then us, they come here and WE assume to tell them that even though they may well have their own religions (hell, there are countless on Earth alone, why would there be less in other species?) they ACTUALLY believe in OUR god? “But we believe — or believed, we have since developed past religions — in the Allmighty Xlalen!” — “Yeah, Xlal…whatever is actually our Christian God, don’t mind those Allah guys saying something else. Joke’s on you.”

Why “beholden to the Christian God”? Why not the Muslim God? Or some other? Of course there is only the Christian God any everyone else is wrong. Just as others believe there is only Allah and everyone else is wrong.

When religions already show such arrogance on Earth why not extend it to the whole universe…

What religion and science both try to do is to try and explain away everything, to answer those eternal questions: why? How? who? When? Where?

But if we knew all the answers life would get boring. My question is not how did life begin, but rather, how do you endeavor to use what life you have?

As for aliens Vs god, or god being an alien… If your not religious and dont attend the social commitments such a thing brings, aliens begin to allow you to think: Your not alone in the universe. If you are religious and dont believe in aliens… Well have you ever met someone from a neighboring religion who doesn’t believe the same things you do? I believe aliens should be treated just the same If not better.

Who knows, they may not believe in god, but we can learn from each other…

It would be very weird if they diddnt, at least, believe in their own gods, and if they tried imposing their religion on us.

Warren Henning: Believing something because it’s suggested by elementary probability thought experiments like the Drake equation seems reasonable to me: you don’t believe it with certainty, you believe it in accordance to the probability of the event.

I’m a Christian and a graduate student in Astronomy. I know other Christian Astronomers, as well. No conflict there. Just to say up front: SETI-​like projects rely on scientific inquiry and as a result the targets used in the search are informed by evolutionary theory and the best science now available. If (as you often contend) evolution is in fact wrong, THESESTUDIESWILLFINDNOTHING. Or worse, we will stumble upon life WHERETHEORYPREDICTSTHERESHOULDBENONE! I think that would be a very interesting result in and of itself.

The basis of the argument for the possibility of alien life is the following logic: In any system where there is a large number of trials, nearly all possibilities will occur if the sample is large enough.

By way of analogy: We all know statues do not move. We also know that all molecules vibrate in random directions. There is a small chance that all the molecules in the arm of a statue may change their vibration to the same direction — thereby perceptively moving the arm of the statue. This would be so rare that it may only occur once in the entire lifetime of the universe. Now, the important question is how does the human mind react to such rare occurrences? I would say that would be culturally dependent: In the middle ages, before the idea of a physical law was developed fully, scripture was taken quite literally that: “All things are possible with God.” It would have been seen as miraculous after investigation by the Church. (I know this seems like a God-​of-​the-​gaps argument; but GOTG relies on having the concept of physical law established. I don’t believe GOTG arguments personally… as we don’t yet know the true limits of human reasoning.) Now, there would be considerable controversy as to whether there is any divine involvement in an extremely rare event.

I’m personally in the camp that life beyond unicellular variety is extraordinarily rare in the universe. I see no compelling reason put forward from biochemistry, astrochemistry, biology or geology (don’t forget extremophiles) why unicellular life might not be abundant. The results of the Kepler mission are showing planets to be more abundant that even I would have predicted. We are getting a very good survey from this and ESO planet hunting that will enable us to begin to form much more cogent theories on planetary formation and solar-​type system interactions, as well as the mass spectrum of planets and basic statistics of planetary populations. (To think when I started my undergrad there were only 2 exoplanet detections in very rare and unusual systems. What an amazing time to be an Astronomer!) In short, there seems to be no shortage of places for life to possibly take root as unicellular life forms. Here we disagree as to where the burden of proof should lie.

I would also remind every reader that there are searches on now for life forms on Earth that don’t meet the usual criteria for life — i.e. a possible shadow biosphere. If found, it would be a remarkable step forward. (Here I’m not an expert, sorry.)

As for intelligent life, I am having trouble with finding a real difference! What is the definition of intelligent life… where do we draw the moral/​epistemological line? Recent studies have shown crows and ravens to be far more intelligent than previously thought. Our nearest relatives genetically, chimps and bonobos, have the same levels of intelligence and social sophistication as a 2 to 3 year old human. We are ‘discovering’ intelligence in non-​human species more and more. It may be that facets of intelligence are far more prevalent in nature than was commonly believed even 20 years ago! What counts as intelligence and why is in flux.

As for technological species, like us, we may be far more rare. Here I am dubious as to whether technology necessarily equals intelligence. And we don’t have a sample greater than one here. Period. SETI is gearing up for a new phase of research by commissioning a new array. The Square Kilometer Array will be able to hopefully survey about a third of the galactic environment (centered on Earth’s location). With a sample that size, we will be able to detect civilizations with similar technological development. (Is our development even ‘normal’? Are we using the same technology as any other hypothetical civilization?) This leads to problems like Fermi’s paradox. The problems arise in ignorance.

Now we come to, what is for me, the whole point of the discussion: IF a technologically advanced civilization exists, would meaningful contact even be possible? Hawking, Dawkins and others are of the opinion that NOCONTACTISREASONABLYPROBABLE. Thus, if no contact is reasonably possible, it remains: (1) an unmeasurable quantity… (Like Russell’s Teapot) and (2) any interference in human/​life affairs of this planet is also highly improbable. The postulate of God’s existence is that He has a DIRECT effect on the creation/​evolution/​history of human/​life affairs on this planet. Postulating a technologically advanced civilization that cannot interfere is not the same statement, logically, as saying they substitute the existence of these aliens for God. It should not be confused… as do many in the pseudo-​science community.

To my mind, even intercepting leakage signals from another similarly advanced civilization would put me in a very joyous/​praise filled frame of mind! For me, it would be a very big sign of hope for our species — with all the complexity and pressures we are bringing to bear on this planet. How much would it add to the glory of God if others like us existed elsewhere! (I mean in a mental and moral sense; not necessarily physiological.) In no way would it disprove the existence of God to my mind. It is only seen as a problem for biblical literalists. After all; in Exodus God said that he would: “Execute judgments on the gods of Egypt.” The Bible is full of claims of non-​human intelligence… including one very big one: GOD! On the surface, knowing this, there is no reason to link aliens to these passages (as do many pseudo-​scientists). SETI, or the other research in Astrobiology, is not about disproving God’s existence. Many scientists are open to the idea still. We just want to know WHAT does exist, and WHY. We are curious — a drive seen as God-​focused by many. What we do with the knowledge once we attain it and how it influences us in our beliefs is a personal choice of every member of the human race on this planet.

Forgive the rant, Ox. I really respect many of the points you make about the nature of science and the nature of faith. In order to have both coexist in the same mind requires looking at both systems of knowledge for what they really are and what each brings to one’s life. Here we agree.

Feel free to trim this post, as I didn’t set out to write an essay here.

Do you know not know anything about probability? Thought experiments that estimate the number of planets with extraterrestrial life don’t reason along the lines of “because life occurred on Earth once…” It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that an intelligent communicative species arose on Earth. The conclusion is “given what we know, it is likely that there are many planets with simple forms of life, and there may even be another intelligent communicative species now or at some time in the past.” That is not “because there is life on earth, it must occur elsewhere” or “there definitely are alien-​like species out there with cool ships and neato gadgets.”

We have only one example, and no proven earth-​like planets. (we have possible evidence of earth-​sized planets of unknown situation)

Trying to figure out the probability from that data is something like trying to figure out what the chance of getting a ‘one’ is when we don’t know if it’s a coin toss, a coin landing on edge, a d20 being rolled or the probability of albinism, or something even more rare.

“Thought experiments” about the probability of life can tell you what assumptions someone will make to get a result they like, but don’t give any useful data. Science fiction is composed of “thought experiments”– as is most fantasy writing.

oneentity: Wrong, just wrong. Very bad generalization.I’m an Atheist and I believe there is alien life because in a universe this freaking huge, with billions and trillions of galaxies each again having billions and trillions of stars each of which can have several planets around it… it would be unspeakably arrogant to believe that in this huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge universe we are the only intelligent species or form of life at all to emerge. Not because of some higher belief or such crap but because it’s just wrong that our species/​planet was the only one to win out against the cosmic odds of probablity and come into existence. So far we only know a tiny fraction about the Universe and yet we already make generalizations about this vastness we don’t even know or fully understand yet. Look at us, racism, classism, environmental damage, etc. all the thing we do wrong and yet we are supposed to believe that this is it. Against all odds of probability we emerged and we are not even that great. And yet “this” is “the chosen race” who KNOWS the one true god?You do not believe in Aliens because there is no evidence but you believe in God even though there is absolutely no real evidence for him/​her/​it either… huh…As to the “aliens believing in OUR god” – that’s just the “usual” religious arrogance, sorry to say so. Why must “our” god be the only one? Because our religions can’t deal with anything else, they can’t even imagine admitting being wrong. Say an alien race was discovered, maybe more advanced then us, they come here and WE assume to tell them that even though they may well have their own religions (hell, there are countless on Earth alone, why would there be less in other species?) they ACTUALLY believe in OUR god? “But we believe – or believed, we have since developed past religions – in the Allmighty Xlalen!” – “Yeah, Xlal…whatever is actually our Christian God, don’t mind those Allah guys saying something else. Joke’s on you.”Why “beholden to the Christian God”? Why not the Muslim God? Or some other? Of course there is only the Christian God any everyone else is wrong. Just as others believe there is only Allah and everyone else is wrong.When religions already show such arrogance on Earth why not extend it to the whole universe…

Oneentity, the way you believe the earth was created differs from the Christian or creationist perspective in which the bible says “God created the universe to show how powerful he was”. If I was an atheist, I too would believe for life to be somewhere else in the universe, but I go by what the bible says.

You say a higher belief is “crap”, yet, any non-​God believer must believe that nothing created something. Something had to have created the big bang, and it was either God, nothing, or an unknown source. I find it much more logical to believe it was a creator the way our world and universe is, but that’s my opinion.

There is evidence for God, and it’s in the bible. I take it you haven’t read the bible, and are just making assumptions from word of mouth or from random things you have read.

There is good reason to believe in the Christian religion over other religions. The other religions out there have numerous flaws compared to Christianity. If we looked at the muslim religion, for example, the Quran says that the heavens and the earth were once joined together as one unit before it was split into two parts. This creation model could never be applied to any kind of Big Bang theory. However, the Bible clearly presents the creation of the universe as an expanding universe model in which God spreads out the stars.

As a Catholic, I was little taken aback by what you think the Catholic Church believes about suicide. To quote: “It is the Catholics, after all, who believe (without grounds) that committing suicide is an automatic ticket to hell.”

We don’t believe that at all. Rather, some might believe that, but the Tradition of the Church has never been such. Here are the passages from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (the distillation of the Church’s collected teaching, wisdom, and life over the past 2,000 years):

Suicide

2280 Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.2281 Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.2282 If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-​operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law. Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.2283 We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. the Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.

Indeed, the Church further expounds:

1037 God predestines no one to go to hell (from the Council of Orange in 529AD); for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end. In the Eucharistic liturgy and in the daily prayers of her faithful, the Church implores the mercy of God, who does not want “any to perish, but all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9): Father, accept this offering from your whole family. Grant us your peace in this life, save us from final damnation, and count us among those you have chosen (from Eucharistic Prayer at Mass).

Surely, we can judge actions as being good, neutral, or bad, but to judge a man, that is the prerogative of the Lord alone. Recall the Letter of James: “There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save or to destroy. Who then are you to judge your neighbor?” (Jas 4:12)

As regards, your comments on extraterrestrial life, I agree. I have read the essay of Lewis’s that you mention and the Space Trilogy is my favorite of his fictional works. Perhaps you are onto something too about so many vocal atheists believing in aliens. There is certainly nothing about belief in extraterrestrial life that is in opposition to traditional Christian belief, and I wish that was better known. Thanks for sharing that truth. May the peace of God beyond all understanding guard your mind and heart in Christ Jesus.

Thanks for this. I was watching the latest version of the “V” series and they also had people questioning their religion because aliens appeared. I didn’t see any connection at all for the same reasons you mentioned.

As for whether aliens exist or not, I feel about that same way I feel about the existence of ghosts. I don’t know if they exist or not, but I’d prefer not to be the one to find out for sure that they do.

You’ve constructed many strawmen here, extrapolating an altered view of a few people to all atheists. I’m not going to repeat what everybody before me has said about probabilities because that wouldn’t add to the discussion, but I would request that you not generalize so much about atheists in such the way that you criticize us of doing

I don’t think it’s to prove Christianity. I think that an atheists belief in aliens and putting such strong faith in them is almost like a religion in its own. I think it’s more that since they don’t believe in a god, they find it necessary to put something in its place.

I do not encourage war of any kind, let alone that between atheists or Christians. As a thinking individual, however, I am free to think and talk about such things. If I disagree with your or anyone else, that is my freedom. If you or anyone else gets angry and wants a “war”, that is tragic. But not my problem.